MOBILE, Alabama -- (Welcome to Extra Points, a place where four times a week - Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, perhaps other days when a subject or the mood moves me - I'll share some thoughts with you on Mobile-area sports. Sometimes, we'll step outside the region as well. Come hang out with me. Let's chat.)

BAYBEARS IN FAMILIAR SPOT: The Mobile BayBears are living up to their recent past: they're in first place in the South League's South Division.

And today's best bet is the opportunity to see the BayBears in action tonight against the Mississippi Braves at Hank Aaron Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:05 and the two teams will play the next four nights, each night at 7:05 p.m., at The Hank.

It not only offers BayBears fans a chance to go out and cheer on the local team, but it also provides an opportunity for Braves' fans -- and there are a lot of Braves fans along the Gulf Coast -- to check out players who may soon be playing in Atlanta. It's a win-win for baseball fans in the Mobile area.

The BayBears are currently No. 4 in the Southern League in team batting with a .245 average (Mississippi is No. 6 at .242) and the BayBears' pitching staff has the best ERA in the league at 2.50 (Mississippi is No. 6 at 3.73)

NUMBERS GAME: As the South Alabama softball team heads into the Sun Belt Conference tournament, the coaching staff is quite numbers-conscious. Last week, the team was No. 17 in the NCAA RPI rankings. That's a significant number because teams among the top 16 in RPI who make a bid to host a NCAA Tournament regional usually earn a regional. That put the Jaguars, who have made such a bid, one spot outside the golden number.

However, after splitting a home doubleheader with Troy on Saturday, the Jags dropped to No. 21 in the RPI rankings as of Monday afternoon. That number matches the team's ranking in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 rankings last week. The new rankings will be released today.

Should the Jags win the Sun Belt tournament title for the third consecutive year this weekend, especially with it being played on Louisiana-Lafayette's home field -- the Ragin' Cajuns are the tourney's top seed and are ranked higher in top 25 polls -- it could mean a boost in the Jags' RPI fortunes.

MORE NUMBERS: The South Alabama baseball team got off to a good start in its three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State last weekend, winning on Friday. But trouble befell the Jags in the final two games of the series and Georgia State won on Saturday and Sunday.

That leaves USA with six regular-season games to go as they attempt to hold on to their spot among the top eight teams in the Sun Belt standings. Only the top eight teams in the 10-team league earn a spot in the conference tournament, which USA will host May 21-25 at Stanky Field.

The Jags are currently in sixth place and have an 8-10 Sun Belt record. Behind the Jags is Georgia State and Louisiana-Monroe (both at 9-15), Troy (8-15) and Arkansas-Little Rock (7-17). South Alabama hosts league leader Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend for three games (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), then closes out the season at Troy (May 15-17). Lafayette is ranked No. 3 in the country.

NOW READ THIS: Wilson McDonald was a late addition to the State Four-Ball Championship at Steelwood Country Club last weekend. He joined Ty Thompson, whose original partner had to withdraw from the tournament late, and they combined to win the tournament. Here's the story on their victory.

(If you have an item you would like to see featured here or you just have a comment, send me a note at thicks@al.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @TheTommyHicks.)